"Go Set a Watchman," a recently released novel written by Harper Lee as a follow-up to her mega-successful page-turner "To Kill a Mockingbird," was an overnight sensation. The book was apparently a lost manuscript where she first wrote about Atticus Finch.
Lee's lawyer and spokesperson Tonja Carter hinted last July in an op-ed article for Wall Street Journal that there could be another unpublished book with a story within Scout's universe but rare books expert James S. Jaffe has confirmed that there isn't.
According to Wall Street Journal, Jaffe was tasked to study the contents of the safe-deposit box housed in a bank at Lee's hometown, Monroeville, Alabama. While a manuscript of another book wasn't there, he did find some interesting stuff about Lee's bestselling books.
As per Wall Street Journal, the box contained an original typescript of "Go Set a Watchman." Along with it is an early typescript of "To Kill a Mockingbird," (at least the first third of it), which had an introduction different from the one that was eventually read by Lee's legions of fans.
Instead of Lee's mega famous quote "When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow," this typescript had the opening line "Where did it all begin? It began with Andrew Jackson." A copy-edited typescript of this was in the safe-box too.
Jaffe confirms that what Carter once called "mysterious pages of text" aren't part of another Scout story, but they were nevertheless of great significance. "I think that's an extremely important collection," he said as quoted by WSJ.
Another rare books expert James Cummins, who wasn't involved in the inspection of Lee's papers, thinks that this early copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird" ought to hold substantial value mainly because "shows you the process of the author, shows you how the novel evolved."
"It's worth a lot of money," he said via WSJ. "The question is, where is the other two-thirds of it?"
When Jaffe examined the papers in the safe-box, which also lodged an envelope marked "copyright documents" (he wasn't allowed to inspect this), he was with Carter, another unnamed attorney and a family member.
In other related news, there is still doubt surrounding the supposed unearthing of "Go Set a Watchman," who Carter discusses with relatively varying accounts, according to Bustle. There was controversy when the manuscript was first found and some speculated the lawyer was taking advantage of 90-year-old Lee.
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